CARDINAL AND ORDINAL NUMBERS IN ENGLISH
1.1. CARDINAL NUMBERS
Cardinal numbers say how many people or things there are.
There are five books on the desk.
Ron is ten years old.
1.2. ORDINAL NUMBERS
Add th to the cardinal number to form the ordinal number: six → sixth
Add the last two letters of the written word to the figure. → 4th
Numbers in words: The ordinal numbers 1st → first, 2nd → second and 3rd → third are
irregular. Be careful with the spelling of the words for 5th, 8th, 9th, 12th and the words
ending in -y.
2. The numbers in a table
Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers
0 oh, zero ---
1 one 1st first
2 two 2nd second
3 three 3rd third
4 four 4th fourth
5 five 5th fifth
6 six 6th sixth
7 seven 7th seventh
8 eight 8th eighth
9 nine 9th ninth
10 ten 10th tenth
11 eleven 11th eleventh
12 twelve 12th twelfth
13 thirteen 13th thirteenth
14 fourteen 14th fourteenth
15 fifteen 15th fifteenth
Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers
16 sixteen 16th sixteenth
17 seventeen 17th seventeenth
18 eighteen 18th eighteenth
19 nineteen 19th nineteenth
20 twenty 20th twentieth
21 twenty-one 21st twenty-first
22n twenty-
22 twenty-two
d second
23 twenty-three 23rd twenty-third
24 twenty-four 24th twenty-fourth
25 twenty-five 25th twenty-fifth
30 thirty 30th thirtieth
31 thirty-one 31st thirty-first
40 forty
50 fifty
60 sixty
70 seventy
80 eighty
90 ninety
100 a/one hundred
1,000 a/one thousand
10,000 ten thousand
a/one hundred
100,000
thousand
1,000,000 a/one million
1,000,000,000 a/one billion
1.3 NUMBERS BIGGER THAN 100
Number Word
121 a/one hundred and twenty-one
356 three hundred and fifty-six
999 nine hundred and ninety-nine
1.4 NUMBERS BIGGER THAN 1,000
Use a hyphen between compound numbers and the word and.
Use either the definite article a or one for 1,000.
Separate three digits with a comma (,) → 50,000.
Number Word
1,121 a/one thousand one hundred and twenty-one
2,356 two thousand three hundred and fifty-six
9,999 nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
1.5 FRACTIONS
Use the ordinal number for the denominator:
1/3 → one third
2 3/5 → two and three fifths
Exceptions:
1/2 → one half
1/4 → one quarter
1.6 DECIMALS
Use the cardinal number for decimals:
3.8 → three point eight
4.25 → four point two five
1.7 PRONOUNCING PERCENTAGES
Percentages are easy to read aloud in English. Just say the number and then add the
word "percent".
5% - five percent
36.25% - thirty-six point two five percent
1.8 PRONOUNCING MEASUREMENTS
60m - sixty meters
25km/h - twenty-five kilometers per hour
13kg – thirteen kilograms
THE DATE IN ENGLISH – WRITING AND SPELLING
1. How to say the year
You write You say
nineteen hundred (and) one
1901
nineteen oh-one
1995 nineteen ninety-five
two thousand (and) two
2002
twenty oh-two
two thousand (and) ten
2010
twenty ten
2. Writing and saying the date in British English
rule: day – month – year
Day Month Year
You write: 1st January, 2010
You say: the first of January twenty ten
4. Sample sentences and the correct prepositions:
I was born in 1999. (Use in with the year.)
I was born in August. (Use in with the month.)
I was born on 12th May, 2000. (Use on in the complete date.)
